Month end in Xero is mostly the same 17 jobs every month. Below is a checklist you can tick off as you go (it remembers your ticks in this browser, and you can print it), followed by notes on each step and where to find it in Xero.
Xero reorganised its menus in 2025. The paths here use the current layout, with Sales, Purchases, Accounting, Tax and Reporting along the top.
Banking
Sales and purchases
Payroll
Adjustments
Tax
Close and report
Banking
Everything else depends on the bank being right, so start there. Reconcile each bank account under Accounting > Bank accounts until the Statement Balance matches the Balance in Xero. If they don't match, the usual causes are a missing or duplicated statement line, or a transaction entered directly in Xero that never appeared on the bank feed.
From the bank account's menu, Uncoded statement lines lists anything not yet reconciled, which is easier than scrolling. Then run the Bank Reconciliation report, enter the closing balance from your actual bank statement, and check it shows nothing out.
Sales and purchases
Make sure every sales invoice for the month is in and approved, and that bills, receipts and expense claims are entered. Drafts are easy to forget: approve them or delete them.
Then look at the Aged Receivables Summary and Aged Payables Summary (Reporting > All reports). Month end is a natural point to chase overdue invoices. Xero's invoice reminders (Sales > Invoices) can send up to five automatic reminders for invoices you've marked as sent. If you want the aged receivables report in your inbox every week, see emailing the aged receivables report weekly.
Payroll
Post the month's pay runs, then check the payroll accounts. Run the Account Transactions report for your payroll liability accounts (wages payable, tax withheld, and pension or super payable) with opening and closing balances. Last month's amounts should net to zero once they've been paid.
Adjustments
Accruals and prepayments go in as manual journals (Reporting > All reports > Journal Report, then add a new journal, or go to manual journals). Set an Auto Reversing Date on journals that should reverse at the start of next month, so you don't have to remember. Monthly entries that don't change can be repeating journals instead, but note that repeating journals can't auto-reverse.
If you use fixed assets, run depreciation from Accounting > Fixed assets > Run depreciation up to the last day of the month. Only administrators can run it, and it won't run into a period that's locked for all users, so do it before you set the lock date. If you track inventory in Xero, post stock adjustments from the item's menu under Sales > Products and services.
Finally, clear anything parked in a suspense account and fix miscoded transactions. Accounting > Find and recode lets an administrator recode a group of transactions at once.
Tax
If a return is due, prepare it now that the month is complete: the UK VAT Return, the NZ GST return or the AU Activity Statement.
Close and report
Review the Profit and Loss with last month and the same month last year beside it, and the Balance Sheet for anything that looks off. When you're happy, set a lock date under Accounting > Accounting settings > Financial settings > Lock Dates. You can lock the period for everyone except administrators, or for all users. Drafts can still be saved into a locked period.
The last step is getting the numbers to the people who need them. In Xero that usually means running the Management Report or a custom report pack, exporting it to PDF and emailing it. If you'd like a branded front page, there's a free cover page generator.
Automating the last step
The reconciling and reviewing need a person. Sending the reports doesn't. Reportpost connects to Xero (read-only) and emails the Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, aged receivables and other standard reports on a set day each month, as PDF, Excel or CSV, optionally with your own cover page. Schedule it for a few days after your usual close, so the numbers are final when they go out. There's a free trial, and you can try the demo without connecting Xero.
Related: reports by tracking category, automating month-end packs for many Xero clients, emailing the trial balance at month end and sending monthly management accounts.